NYFW 2019: My New York Fashion Week VLOG!

     I'M BACK FROM NYFW!!! Caps lock totally needed, because what a weekend!

{Preview of a special blog collaboration with Pink Colony!! More to come soon} 

Virginia Travel Guide: Jones Run Falls in Shenandoah National Park.

     Shenandoah National Park is one of Virginia's most special natural gems. Since I moved here, it had been a hope of mine to visit and do some hiking in the fall season! I finally had the chance to do that a couple of weeks ago, when my dad was here visiting. Although I can only say that I've seen a really small portion of Shenandoah, I still wanted to share more about my visit there! It was my first time in Shenandoah National Park, but definitely not the last.

    Shenandoah National Park info:

    Founded as a national park in 1935, Shenandoah National Park is an 105 mile long natural treasure. Shenandoah runs through eight counties in the state of Virginia, with the northern entrance of the park beginning near Front Royal, and the southern entrance located in Afton (30 minutes from Charlottesville). It is a very accessible national park, thanks to Skyline Drive, the paved and well maintained road that runs above the mountain tops, and through the entire length of the park. With a constant speed limit of 35 mph, it takes an estimated 3-4 hours to drive Skyline Drive in its entirety. There are four access points to Skyline Drive. The two closest to Charlottesville are at the beginning in Afton (off I-64), and Route 33 in Greene County. When I first moved to this area, I was very confused as I thought that Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway were the same thing! They are actually totally separate (and Blue Ridge Parkway is free to drive on), but Skyline Drive ends in Afton right where the Blue Ridge Parkway begins!

     There are over 500 miles of trails within Shenandoah National Park, and a number of campgrounds and lodges. Most of the hiking trails have their own parking lots right off of Skyline Drive.  There are also 75 overlooks with parking that visitors can enjoy. If hiking or camping isn't your thing, you can still enjoy a full day in Shenandoah National Park, by driving Skyline Drive and stopping leisurely at overlooks! Fall is known as a magical time to visit Shenandoah. The weather has started cooling off, and beautiful foliage is known to cover the mountains and trails.

     Park admission is $30 per car for a seven-day pass, and $55 for an annual pass. There are also a few fee free days each year in all of the US national parks, information on those can be found here.

     Jones Run Falls trail: 

     With the plethora of trails to choose from, it can seem overwhelming to pick a hike to do in Shenandoah National Park! I knew that my dad and I wanted a hike that was strenuous enough to make us break a sweat, but not too long or tough for us, being that we are more novice hikers. If we could see a water fall on the hike, that would be an added bonus! I started doing some research, and found Jones Run Falls trail.

    This trail is located just about 20ish miles after getting onto Skyline Drive from the southern end in Afton, and it's another 20ish miles to the next terminus, at Route 33, so it was a perfect driving distance for us to hike, as we were coming in from Charlottesville. The trail has its own parking lot, easily marked on Skyline Drive. It is just over two miles each way to hike to Jones Run Falls, so all in all it's about a four and a half mile hike, which was ideal for us. The waterfall is absolutely beautiful, and you can get pretty up close and personal with it!

    I've been trying to do more video content for Southern Belle in Training's Youtube channel whenever I travel- so I made a brief video about my fall day in Shenandoah!! You can watch it below:

     Even though my dad and I spent several hours driving on Skyline Drive and hiking to Jones Run Falls, we barely touched the surface of all the wonders that Shenandoah has to offer! I am considering getting an annual park pass so that I can take more advantage of hiking and sightseeing next year.


     Have you been to Shenandoah before? Or a different national park closer to where you live? In talking with my dad, I realized that I think this is only my second national park visit ever! (My parents and I went to Carlsbad Caverns in NM when I was younger.)



     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese

Italy Travel Vlog + My Travel Destinations Bucket List!

     Well part one of today's blog post is about nine months overdue! I'm finally sharing my first vlog from my trip to Italy with my mom in March 2017, right before I moved to Vermont! In the spirt of wanderlust (and a little bit of winter cabin fever that's starting to hit), I'm also sharing my travel bucket lists!

     Despite the fact that I've taken a good few video editing classes between my major in undergrad and broadcasting school last year, video editing still isn't something that comes naturally to me. In broadcasting school especially, I had to work doubly hard on any video or TV assignments then I did on radio ones. That's honestly the main reason why I don't do more to grow my Youtube channel or incorporate more video stuff onto the blog! It's just something that really doesn't come naturally to me (unlike writing and photography). But it's always good to push yourself out of your creative comfort zone, so I'm hoping to challenge myself and make a few more videos for the blog in 2018. Youtube will never be a weekly (or maybe even monthly) component to Southern Belle in Training, but I'm hoping you'll be seeing more video content in the future! Anyways, I did decide last year though that I wanted to vlog the Italy trip, and I made the commitment to myself that I WOULD finish the vlogs- no matter how long it took! I wasn't quite expecting it to take nine months... but here we are, lol! Anyways, I loved the end product of this vlog and I think I would like to make more travel vlogs in the future for more "big trips" that I go on. Today's vlog is actually part one, and it covers Rome and Florence. Venice was my favorite part of the trip- and this winter I'll be working on a second vlog for that. (Hopefully it won't take me nine months! 😉)


     Check out my first Italy vlog below, and follow my Youtube channel here!

     Now let's talk travel bucket lists! Travel is one of the things that I'm most passionate about in life. There is so much to gain from visiting new places and exposing yourself to different cultures, both domestically with different states, and of course internationally with various countries and continents! I feel very thankful that I grew up with two parents who also love to travel and made it a priority during the years I was younger. They also supported my decision to study abroad for a summer in college, and although that actually didn't end up being the most positive experience, it definitely put me outside of my comfort zone and I'm still glad I did it!


     I've been blessed with the opportunity to go on some amazing trips during the last five years, last year's Italy trip being just one of them! Since I'm on my own in the working world now, I'm currently focused on paying off all of my school debts in the next couple years before going on any "big" trips. But I'm always dreaming about places around the globe that I'd like to visit, and my wanderlust list keeps growing and growing! I know that after I've finished paying off school it will be SO HARD for me to decide where to take my next international trip to. And who knows, it might also be a big domestic trip!



     *US Travel Bucket List:

• Every single state, and especially all 48 continental states. Seriously!! Want to see all 50! It's actually on my bucket list to do a cross-country road trip someday, and integrate it into both my blog and whatever radio show I'm working on at the time. I literally want to see every major US city, re-visit all the places I visited with my parents when I was little now that I'm an adult, and also see many of the national parks. That would be way too long to list all of my US bucket list destinations out, so let's jump into the international ones:

     *International Travel Bucket List:

• Panama (There's just something about the country of Panama, it's been on my bucket list for a few years now! It's fairly affordable to visit, there's minimal jet lag, Panama City has an incredible skyline, and I'd love to see the Panama Canal!)
• Saint Lucia (It looks like one of the Caribbean's most incredible islands, I'd love to see it for myself!)
• Mexico (I'd love to finally visit Cancun or Cabo, these destinations look like they'd be perfect to visit with a group of friends for a besties trip.) 
• Paris, France (Yes... I studied abroad in France for a whole month and never made it to Paris, outside of layovers in the airport!!) 
• Thailand (I think it would be so romantic to honeymoon here someday on a resort on one of Thailand's amazing beaches!)
• Singapore (One of Asia's cultural gems!)
• Japan (Such amazing culture and so many cool things to do! I also had a Japanese exchange student friend in high school so it would be fun to reunite as adults.) 
• India (I have been long obsessed with Bollywood movies and Indian food, and I would love to finally see this amazing country for myself. One of my favorite Bollywood movies is set in the beach state of Goa, so visiting there would be especially high on the bucket list!)
• Spain (My mom and I had a layover there en route to Italy, and it made me sad I wasn't able to explore this beautiful country too!)
• Greece (Some of the most gorgeous architecture and islands on earth- enough said!)
• Halifax, Nova Scotia (This city in Eastern Canada is another one that's been on my travel bucket list for years. It just seems like such a charming place to visit!)

     These countries are just my top travel bucket list destinations, but I'm not joking when I say that there are so many more places that I'd love to visit! My wanderlust is so real. 

     Do we share any of the same travel destinations on our bucket lists? Are your travel goals more international or domestically focused? (Or both, like mine?)



      God Bless,



      xoxo Annaliese

   

HAIR TUTORIAL: How To Get Big Southern Curls (+ My First Blog Video!)

      Today is a very exciting Monday on Southern Belle in Training! Many of y'all have been requesting that I do a hair tutorial on the blog for years. (And no I'm not exaggerating- actually for years now! Cue the #embarrassedmonkeyemoji) And friends- that day is finally here- YAY!

Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases.

{Follow me on Instagram and Snapchat @miss_alk!}

Ramblings:

• Carolina Cup Fun: A full recap of my first Carolina Cup experience will be on the blog this Friday, so stay tuned for that! I went to the Cup with my fellow North Carolina blogger bestie Cara of Caralina Style, and she ended up spending the whole weekend in Charlotte with me, which was too much fun! 
• The best TED Talk ever: A few weeks ago, I found a link to this TED Talk in a post on the blog Keynotes From Kay. Kay described this video as "if you have a free 10 minutes, it will make your day," so of course I had to give it a watch! After watching it the first time and laughing so hard that I cried, I'm now OBSESSED with it, and have shown it to several friends. If you do have a free 10 minutes, I promise that this hilarious video will indeed make your day! 
• Live in the moment: This is kind of a more personal rambling, but in a month from tomorrow, I graduate college! Despite all of the stress that this month will bring with end-of-the-year festivities, plus exams and lots of finals projects, I really want to take time over the next few weeks to enjoy the end of college. This time will only come once in my life, and before I know it, these days will be over. (Although with that said, I am still so, so excited to graduate! And so thankful that it is happening on time, I was very lucky everything worked out since I transferred schools!)

Purchases:

• Guess who finally made a decision on a graduation dress?! (*Cue girl with raised hand emoji*) I never realized that shopping for a college graduation dress could be so difficult! When I graduated from high school, my school required that all of the girls wear white sundresses. While this rule was a little to uniform for my colorful fashion preferences, it definitely made dress shopping much easier. I was so excited to be able to purchase any type of dress that I wanted to college graduation, but as a fashion blogger, of course I had to find the perfect one, and I didn't know how hard that would be! I can only imagine what wedding dress shopping will be like for me someday... ha! Anyways- this is what I went with!
• In other large purchases news, things are coming together for my apartment! My mom and I found a great deal on my mattress during the weekend that she visited to help me apartment hunt, but up until now that mattress was the only piece of furniture that I owned! This past Friday though I finally bought bedding and a bed set. My bedding set is from a department store brand that isn't online, but this bedding set looks almost identical to mine! Both the bedding and bed are so different from what I've had in college, so I can't wait to see everything all put together. 

     This week might not have brought the most exciting ramblings, but at least I have my graduation dress. ;-) It is Greek Week at my school right now, so my sorority has events every single night. Tomorrow night is the biggest event of the week: Lip Sync! 

     xoxo Miss ALK

Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases.

{Photo credit: Morgan from How 2 Wear It. Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Snapchat @miss_alk!}

Ramblings: 

• Blogger meet-up fun: The picture above shows how much fun I had this past Saturday at the March meet-up for North Carolina's region of the InfluenceHer Blogger Network (formally known as the Her Campus Blogger Network)! I am the regional chair for IHC North Carolina, so I get to plan meet-ups every couple of months for the wonderful bloggers in my area! This month we met at the Charlotte Premium Outlets, which is a fairly new outlet shopping center on the outskirts of the city. I had actually never been over to the outlets before, and I was amazed at how nice they were! But the best part of the afternoon was definitely getting to be in the company of some other great bloggers. Despite being a wide array of ages, everyone got along perfectly, and we enjoyed talking all about blogging collaborations, photoshoot fails, and of course sharing lots of stories about the strange emails that we receive from time to time as bloggers! If you are a Charlotte or NC blogger and would like to join the InfluenceHer Blogger Network and be included in my future meet-up plans, click here to apply to join IHC, and then send me an email at rainbowflash94@yahoo.com. 
• Apartment life: I mentioned in a recent MR + RP post that my friend Ciera and I (she is my roommate for post-grade life) found our apartment recently! The apartment hunting process went more smoothly then we thought it would, and we love our new place. We were offered a great rent special for the weeks before I graduate, and since Ciera graduated college in December, she has already moved in! I went over the visit last night and to see how she is settling in. I am getting SO excited to get to officially move in after I graduate, it really couldn't come sooner! I'm trying to make the most of my last six weeks of college... but with all of the work and commitments that I have, it's hard to enjoy everything! Also: if y'all have any great apartment design Pinterest boards, please leave a comment with the link!!
• Orlando vacation recap: Be sure to check out this post from last week if you haven't yet! It's a full recap of my last Spring Break, which was spent in Orlando and Disney! I want to start bringing more travel content to this blog in the months and years to come, so I hope that y'all enjoyed the format of this post. :-) 
• Two giveaways: Just a reminder that I have two giveaways going on right now! One is in yesterday's blog post, and one is running on my Instagram through tonight! 
• Dancing groomsmen: Here's my funny web find of the week: do any of you remember the viral wedding dance video that the internet went crazy over several years ago? (I think it was when I was in 9th or 10th grade maybe?) It featured a couple and their bridal party dancing down the aisle to Forever by Chris Brown. I used to be obsessed with that video back in the day! Anyways, this fun wedding reception dance video has recently gone viral, and it features some groomsmen that definitely have moves! I love when they break out into the *NSYNC dance. 

Purchases:

• I did very well at the LOFT outlet when I visited the Charlotte Premium Outlets on Saturday! I actually prefer LOFT outlets to their regular mall stores. I always find the best deals at their outlets! The first thing that I purchased was the most darling white blouse. I have a patterned and very bright summer skirt that I've been needing a simple top to style with, and thanks to LOFT I finally found the right type of top! The exact top that I purchased isn't online, but this one is super similar, and I think it's actually prettier than the one that I took home, haha! (And this one is on sale online right now too! Win!)
• I also found a super cute fitted dress jacket at LOFT. Not only is is a perfect business casual piece, but it is made of the comfiest fabric. And in-store it was on sale for under $40! Sadly again this piece isn't online, but this very similar jacket is online here!

       Hope that everyone is having a great week!

      xoxo Miss ALK

Summer Netflix Favorites.

 

     Ahhh, summer. The season when I have long days at work and no homework to worry about, so it is the perfect time of year to make the most out of my Netflix account! My parents got me my Netflix account for my 18th birthday, and it was one of the best gifts they've ever given me. ;-) (Don't know how I would have made it through college this far without it... I kid I kid! Or do I?) I have both a DVD plan and the instant streaming plan, but this blog post is going to focus on my favorite picks for Netflix instant since that's what's most popular and accessible on most devices. Some of these shows are what I'm currently watching, others are what I watched right after getting Netflix a couple years ago, but all of these choices are what I think would make excellent summer entertainment choices!



     How I Met Your Mother

     I fully credit Jess, my Big in my sorority, for getting me hooked on this show last semester! The first eight seasons are streaming on Netflix and they provided tons of entertainment for me as I got through my spring semester of sophomore year. The ninth and final season of the show just finished, and it should be up on Netflix sometime this fall! This show wasn't my favorite when I first started it, but it grew on me through the seasons. I loved how believable the characters were (especially Barney- I had a guy friend in high school that reminded me so much of him!) and how certain items keep popping up again and again through the seasons. And if you need one more reason to watch- Robin Sparkles. Need I say more?!

     Jab Tak Hai Jaan



     

     I have posted before that I love all things related to Indian culture. I am obsessed with Indian food, and another aspect of Indian culture that I love is the Bollywood film industry. Netflix actually has a really great selection of Bollywood movies available for streaming, and they all come with English subtitles! This movie, Jab Take Hai Jaan, is one of my favorites. It's a long one... over three hours long, but I love it so much that I've watched it three times! (And that's saying a lot since I'm not a huge movie person to begin with!) This movie is a romantic drama... another surprising factor that I liked it so much since those aren't usually my types of films at all (I usually avoid most Nicholas Sparks films or other overly sappy romantic movies). But this movie is absolutely the most beautiful love story! A small portion is set in India but the majority is set in London. The main reason that I was excited to visit London last winter is because I knew so much of this movie took place there haha!! :-) Anyways,  the movie has a difficult love triangle in it, and is very heartwrenching. It also features some wonderful Bollywood music, below are my two favorite songs from the movie! Seriously, I'd recommend for anyone to give it a try! It might just make you fall in love with Bollywood. 

     Hart of Dixie

     Okay... if y'all don't take any of my other two Netflix suggestions... TAKE THIS ONE. (Caps lock 100% necessary.) This is literally one of the BEST TELEVISION SHOWS I HAVE EVER SEEN. And I don't say that often! The only other TV show that comes this close to my whole heart is 7th Heaven... which will probably forever be my #1 favorite TV show, but Hart of Dixie is officially a close #2. This show is amazing! I suppose it's time for me to actually to tell you why I love it so much, haha. :-) First off, I love the balance between comedy and drama. It has its serious moments, and they're heartfelt and believeable, but not over-the-top or totally unrealistic. It really seems to portray real life quite well. And it actually has its comedic moments too! Those happen way more in season 2, but so far during the second season I've been laughing so hard that I've cried multiple times. I have literally fallen in love with the characters (and how could you not fall in love with those three good lookin' guys in the cast photo above?!), and I love how its set in a small town in the South. If you don't believe me that this show is good- listen to this! So I told my best friend Jules to try watching it, and we don't normally have the same TV tastes... but she was halfway done with Season 1 within 48 hours!! And within a week she had gotten her whole family hooked on it! Her parents, younger brother and younger sister... they were all watching every night with her. And I can bet you that I definitely don't normally have the same TV tastes as Jules's younger brother. ;-) So my point- this show is GOLD. Watch it- you won't regret it!!! 

     Have you been hooked on any Netflix shows lately? Since I'm almost done with Hart of Dixie (until season 4 comes out on the CW this fall!), I'm trying to decide what to watch next! I'm thinking Friday Night Lights or Greek? A high school friend recommended Friday Night Lights to me and I love Connie Britton since she's the star of Nashville... one of my other favorite shows. But at the same time I want to give Greek a try since I am a Greek at my college, haha! So help me out and let me know what you've been watching! I also enjoy watching documentaries and interesting movies sometimes... my tastes are all over the place. 

     xoxo Miss ALK

    P.S. Stay tuned for some giveaways on here SOON! :-)

May Music Loves.

      It's been quite awhile since I've shared my favorite music on the blog! My starred playlist on Spotify has been rapidly growing over the past month, so I thought I'd share some of the songs that have been on repeat with y'all. My music tastes have been all over the place lately (which hopefully is a good thing for someone who wants to work in radio?), and I've been listening to everything from songs that came out decades ago to songs that are hot on the charts.

• "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" by Phil Collins 

     I've been a long-time Phil Collins fan, but I've never really known how much I loved this song until now! I was listening to his greatest hits album on Spotify last week, and when this song came on I literally started dancing, and have been listening to it non-stop since then! Such a fun, catchy beat, and I just love his voice!

•  "Crush (Dance Mix):" by Jennifer Paige

 
    Did anyone really think they could get through a post of my favorite songs without at least one 90s one-hit wonder in there? ;-) Didn't think so! Jennifer Paige's song Crush was a 1998 hit that peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts (fun fact), but I recently discovered the dance mix of this song, and I am in love! I love it so much more than the original. It is so peppy and upbeat, and definitely has that classic 90s dance anthem feel to it.

• "Problem" by Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea 

     This song is just too fun! I love Ariana's voice, I know I'm definitely not the first person to say this but she reminds me of a younger Mariah Carey. This is the perfect song for getting over a dumb guy and reminding yourself that it's time to move on! Perfect song to drive around to in the summertime with all of your girlfriends in the car; music blasting, sunroof open and the windows down!

• "The Way It is" by Bruce Hornsby

 

      I think that the piano playing in this song is absolutely gorgeous! I love it so much that I have even been listening to instrumental versions of the song. The lyrics to this song also have a very thought-provoking message, which certainly can't be said about a lot of newer pop music today.

• "Forever" by Haim

     I first heard of Haim last fall during one of my school breaks. I was visiting home and watching Saturday Night Live with my parents when they performed. A few months later, I started hearing this song by them featured on Target commercials. I really liked it! For some reason this song reminds me of summer... but I like summer, so that's a good thing!! I like some of Haim's other songs as well.


     What are some of your favorite songs right now? Do share!


     xoxo Miss ALK

OOTD: Easter 2014.

Dress: {A little boutique in London that I can't remember the name of :-)} || Jean jacket: Forever 21 || Shoes: Aldo || Earrings: Versona Accessories || Bracelet: Charming Charlie || Ring: {Jewelry boutique from my hometown} || Lips: Wet N' Wild MegaLast Balm Stain in A Stiff Pink

     

     I hope that all of you had a wonderful Easter! Easter is my absolute favorite holiday, and there are many reasons that I always look foward to it. :-)

     Because this year's Easter was a bit late and fell so close to my final exams (and the three weeks that I'll be visiting Maine between this semester and summer school), I wasn't able to travel home for Easter weekend. My sweet friend Ciera from my former college and her family invited me to stay at their house for Saturday night and then to join them at their church for Easter services on Sunday! These OOTD pictures were taken quickly before we left for church, so I apologize if I look rushed in them! 

     I got this dress on my trip to the UK back in December! My mom and I found a bunch of adorable sundresses on sale in a little boutique on London's famed Oxford street. This is one of the ones that I brought home, and I have been saving it for Easter, which I'll admit has been hard! I love the colors and beautiful floral pattern of this dress, and I know that I will get much more use out of it in the future.

     Since this dress was so bold and bright, I kept my accessories very minimal. I really just wanted to let the dress speak for itself! I wore one large bangle bracelet in coordinating colors, and a simple pair of earrings. I didn't have any cardigans that matched the dress very well so I paired it with my favorite jean jacket. (And I'm glad I did that since church ended up being little bit chilly!) On my lips I'm wearing my favorite bargain lip product, one of my Wet N' Wild MegaLast Balm Stains! These lip crayons work SO well and are such a good deal! I have them in two shades and want to buy more.

     Even though putting together an Easter outfit is always fun, my favorite part of the holiday is remembering the real reason to celebrate, the fact that Jesus rose from the grave!! Easter is when He was able to prove that He wasn't just another prophet or wise teacher, He was actually God in human form. How amazing is that?! Easter is always a time when I love to listen to some of my favorite praise and worship songs, so I thought that I would end this post with a few of those!! 

     And I can't forget that Easter also celebrates another favorite thing of mine: BUNNIES! I found these adorable bunny ears when out running errands with Ciera on Saturday, and of course I had to model them in the car on the way back to her house!

     Stay tuned for a GIVEAWAY post tomorrow!! (Well hopefully tomorrow- it is finals week so it might be up on Wednesday. :-) ) 

     xoxo Miss ALK

Favorite Things Thursday: My Big Fat Greek Wedding

     Favorite Things Thursday is finally back after an unintended few week absence (which I am deeply sorry about)! Today I am going to be writing about one of my favorite movies of all time. And I'm not saying that lightly. This is one of the few movies that I have seen more times then I can count, and each time that I watch it I still laugh just as much as the first time! This is what I think the definition of a romantic comedy is:

       Oh, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, how I love thee. The biggest reason that I love you is clearly because one of your supporting actors is Joey Fatone... a member of *NSYNC... aka a member of one of the world's greatest boybands ever. ;-) Alright, alright, that's not the biggest reason, but certainly a factor!

     But really, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is hilarious. It's in-your-face comedy, and it doesn't require sarcasm or a deep sense of humor to find what is funny. It's centered around a family, and I love any sort of movies or TV shows around family drama (I mean 7th Heaven IS my favorite TV show). I also love how it isn't overly raunchy like many other popular comedies these days. It's rated PG, and is still super hilarious and doesn't have too much "kiddy" humor. A beautiful love story is the center of the movie, and there is a great message about how love between a man and a woman shouldn't be confinded to one race or one culture. Below is the official trailer!

 
     Is there a romantic comedy that you can watch time and time again and never get tired of?


     xoxo Miss ALK

Forever my favorite television show.

     If you have been reading my blog for awhile then you know that I'm completely and utterly obsessed with the TV show 7th Heaven (despite the fact that it went off the air in 2007). I have been making my way through the whole series for the past couple of years, and right now I'm midway through season 9. 7th Heaven isn't on Netflix instant watch so it's taken me awhile to get through the DVDs since my Netflix plan allows for me to only have one at a time. But anyways, although I think the show hit its peak during seasons four and five, I'm still enjoying it very much. 7th Heaven has made me laugh, cry, and smile so many times, and the amazingness of the series never fails to amaze me! I love how it's a show that dealt with modern issues from a Christian perspective. That is something that's quite rare in media today. Plus I think the acting is top notch and the plotlines always kept me guessing! If there's one thing I can say about 7th Heaven it's that you never know when one of the Camden kids' ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend is going to come back... recurring characters on this show are recuring... they can come back at any minute!

     Fun fact: last month I gave a speech in my public speaking class about how much I love the show. My love for 7th Heaven runs deep. My beloved car is also named Lucy after Lucy Camden, my favorite character from the show!

     I found this cute little video on Youtube that's a three minute montage of some of the funniest moments from the show's 11 year run!

      What inspired this post is the fact that I watched three back to back season nine episodes yesterday while procrastinating on my homework. :-) I also didn't have a super exciting weekend, but I still wanted to get a little post out for y'all today.  

     Were/are you a 7th Heaven fan?


     xoxo Miss ALK

Vlog: My first Drugstore Make-up Haul!

     At the end of this past summer, I started to fall in love with the Youtube Channel Eleventh Gorgeous.  It's run by two make-up and fashion loving sisters named Tracy and Stefanie, and it's clear that they have an absolute blast making their videos. Some of my favorite videos that they do are the "Drugstore Hauls," where they raid a local drugstore for the latest affordable make-up products and then review them.

     In the past couple weeks, I've gotten a few new make-up products from CVS and Target with my some of my birthday money. I love some of them, and I'm not so crazy about others. I thought that it would be fun to try making my first make-up vlog in the style of Eleventh Gorgeous's videos!! Obviously my webcam isn't the best camera quality, and whatever I learned about video editing in my digital media class last semester has been long forgotten from my brain, so I filmed this from start to finish so I wouldn't have to edit! ;-) But I hope that ya'll still enjoy anyways. Below are the products that I reviewed in my vlog!

• NYX retractable eyeliner in Purple
• Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Blond 
• Physicians Formula Organic wear mascara in Ultra Black
• elf Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Pink Umbrellas
• L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen mascara in shade 680 (which is black)

    Here's the video!! I also recently made a Youtube Channel for my vlogs, so you can find it there as well. :-)

xoxo Miss ALK

Celebrating America's Teachers!

     *This post is sponsored by Participant Media* 


     Teaching and blogging seem to go together. I can't even list all of the blogs that I've come across that are written by women who either are teachers or in college to become teachers. Then there are also teaching link-ups for bloggers! (Two of my favorite bloggers, Nicole and Jamie, are currently hosting a teaching themed link-up called Teacher Talk.) While I myself am not an education major in school, it is a career that I seriously considered while in high school, and I do have friends that are education majors. I think that's it's a wonderful and rewarding field, and that's why I decided to take advantage of this sponsored post opportunity!! (Just so y'all know, I do get a fair amount of e-mails for sponsored posts, but I only accept the ones that I think my readers will enjoy the most :-).)

      I have always been amazed by the impact in one's life of having at least one good teacher sometimem during their years of schooling. For example. many of my high school friends absolutely adored their teachers from the middle school years. I was homeschooled for elementary and middle school so I never got to know these teachers that they loved, but I could tell that these teachers made an impression on my friends. Right up until graduation they would still regularly talk about middle school memories made in their favorite classes, or assignments or projects that they did in middle school that were fond memories.

     ((When thinking about my favorite teacher, I obviously have a little bit of a bias. Since I was homeschooled for eight years I would hands down have to say that my favorite teacher is my mom. ;-) Not only is she an amazing mom, but she was the most creative and fun teacher. We did so many cool things during my homeschooling years: we belonged to different co-ops and networks over the years, and through these groups I made tons of friends and also got to go on some awesome field trips. I was also a competitive figure skater when I was younger so being homeschooled allowed for a more flexible schedule.))


     I definitely had some teachers during my high school years that were not all that great, and because of that I can definitely spot a good teacher. America needs more teachers who are excited and passionate about their profession. The upcoming documentary TEACH celebrates four wonderful public school teachers and shows an inside look at their classrooms. The documentary is being produced by the same producers who made Food Inc, which is a 2008 documentary that showcases the downsides of corporate farming in America. I watched Food Inc back in my 10th grade biology class, and I thought that it was an excellent documentary!! I still remember many of the things that I learned from watching it. I am quite certain that TEACH will be just as good as Food Inc, and I encourage all of you to check it out!!


     TEACH is premiering this Friday, September 6th, on CBS. (Fun fact: September 6th is also my 19th birthday and the first bloversary for this blog!) Please click here to learn more about the film and its message.


   

     Do any of you have a favorite teacher? Are you a teacher yourself? What do you love about the field of education?


     xoxo Miss ALK

Vlog #2: fashion and college advice + more!

     3 disclaimers for you to read before watching this:

• I know I said this when I recorded my first vlog, but I'll say it again for all of the new followers: my voice is not as nasal in person as it sounds in this! My computer's recording program makes me sound like I have a bad cold or something. I'm self concious about my voice sometimes (which may be ironic since I want to be a DJ for a living), so I just had to clear that up. ;-)
• I made a geography mistake in this! It kills me that I did that, since geography is something I really enjoy. But anyways, in this vlog I list all of the states in New England, and I forgot Masschusetts! Whoops! Mass is probably my favorite state in New England to visit, so I feel horrible for forgetting to list it. Yes, I'm a New England native and yes, I'm aware New England has 6 states and not 5, haha. 
• And something un-vlog related but very exciting (to me at least): I now have 125 GFC followers on this blog! 25 is my lucky number, so 125 is exciting for me. :-) Can't wait to keep growing my blog and see where it will lead in the coming years! 

     And now, the vlog!

     xoxo Miss ALK

My favorite songs of Summer 2013.

     A brief reminder to please submit any questions that you would like me to answer in my upcoming vlog! It will be posted this week. :-) Feel free to ask uestions about blogging, fashion, faith or getting-to-know-you type questions are welcome, but really anything is welcome! You can leave your question as a comment on this post, or e-mail it to me. :-)

     If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you better should know that I'm a huge fan of 90s/early 2000s pop music, aka the music of my elementary school years. Boy bands, girl bands, one hit wonders, pop princesses... if it's from those years and you name it, then I love it! Last semester I was blessed with the opportunity to host a 90s/early 2000s radio show at my former college's radio station. It was awesome training for my future career, and kind of a dream come true in itself for me! I loved getting to share the music I was passionate about with a college community.

I think I've shared this photo before... but this was my last day of volunteering at the radio station in May 2012!

     But anyways, I still listen to music that is current now as well. Since I hope to have a career in radio it is important that I keep up with the charts! Every summer there are a few mainstream pop songs that I fall in love with, and these are the tunes that become the anthems to my summers. For example, everytime that I hear the 2010 hit "Cooler Than Me" by Mike Posner, I remember many lazy days that I spent at the beach spent with high school friends (especially my guy friend T since that was his favorite song at the time!). This was the last summer that I didn't work, so I put my copious amounts of free time into beach bathing!

     Below are a few picks for my favorite songs of this summer!

• "What About Love" by Austin Mahone 

     I have read that Austin Mahone is described as the "second-coming of Justin Bieber." Although there are a few JB songs that I like, I am definitely not a Belieber, so I doubted that I would like much of Austin's music. Well, I was wrong! I have been loving this fun pop anthem! I think that Austin has a great voice (for this type of pop song), and the music has a 90s boyband feel to it! And continuing on that note, I love one of the lyrics is "bye bye bye"... I'd like to think that whoever wrote this put it in there to reference *NSYNC's greatest song. :-)

• "Right Now" by David Gutta ft. Rihanna 

     Let me start off by saying that while I think that Rihanna is a talented singer, her immoral lifestyle choices and many of her lyrics keep me from buying her recent music. On her last couple albums many of the songs have had extremely explicit sexual content. However, there are exceptions (such as her clean song "Diamonds"), and I think that this new song that she recorded with French producer David Guetta is definitely on the better side! Yes, there are a couple verses that hint at sexy very flirtatious  behavior, but overall I think the message of the song is to celebrate youth and living in the moment. The  beat of this song is contagious, and whenever I hear it on the radio I want to get up and start dancing!

• "Crooked Smile" by J Cole ft. TLC

     This song has some of the most positive messages out of many of the songs on the Top 40 charts this summer! There are some swears in the original, but I just listen to the radio edit, so I can take away the good stuff from this song instead of the bad. I'll let some of my favorite lyrics explain to you why I love it: 

     "Love yourself girl, or nobody will"

     "No need to fix what God already put His paintbrush on"

     "And baby girl, you're a star, don't let 'em tell you you're not."

     "And if you need a friend to pick you up, I'll be around, and we can ride with the windows down, music loud."

     It's pretty rare to find popular rap music these days that has such empowering lyrics, so I am thrilled that this song has done well! And of course I must add that another reason why I love this song is because it features one of the (recently reunited) top girl bands from the 90s... TLC! 

      What are some of your favorite songs for Summer 2013? 

     xoxo Miss ALK

     P.S. And make sure to read the blurb about my vlog at the start of this post if you haven't yet!! 

Midweek pick-me-ups.

     I can't believe that it's only Wednesday, and that I've only been working at my new job for just two days! There is a lot to learn in any sort of retail position, so my mind feels like it's about to explode with all that I've taken in during the past 48 hours! Although starting work has been tiring, I really do enjoy my new job. My coworkers are all very sweet, and I get to dress up for work! I'm also looking forward to using all of this newfound retail knowledge when I actually start making sales with customers.

     I'm not sure what your week has been like, but if it's been as busy then by Wednesday you might be looking for something to raise your spirits. So I'm about to share with you what I think are two of the funniest Youtube videos that I've ever come across...

     I'm guessing that most of you have seen American Idol (or are at least familiar with it). You know how at the start of each season during the auditions they show some really bad auditions for a few laughs? Well, I've found a couple of the most hilarious and terrible auditions ever, but they aren't from American Idol! They're from idol type shows around the world. One is from Australian Idol and one is from some type of Indian Idol show (Punjab Idol?). I've seen these probably close to a hundred times now, and I still laugh everytime.

     What are some things that lighten your mood after a long day?


     xoxo Miss ALK

Watch this.

     Watch this TED talk and you will not regret it! The speaker is Christian author Dannah Gresh. She's written several books on important subjects like modesty and purity. My mom bought me her best selling modesty book Secret Keeper when I was in middle school, and I learned so much from it. This past year at school I read one of her books on purity called And the Bride Wore White. That book along with Wait for Me by Rebecca St. James encouraged me to make a commitment to abstinence until marriage.

     Dannah Gresh's TED talk just affirms everything that I believe it. She makes so many wonderful arguments counteracting today's "modern" views on sex and purity, and makes a case for biblical truths using modern research. Even if you don't share the Christian view on purity, watch this. Dannah explains how there's scientific evidence to why waiting is better. Watching this might be the best 10 minutes of your day!


     xoxo Miss ALK

Spring Formal inspiration.

     Tonight is the annual Spring Formal dance at school! Sadly the weather seems to be a bit confused about what season it is... it's currently cloudy, windy, and around 50 degrees. :-( Hopefully it will warm up a little bit by later! Anyways, I decided that I was going to attend this dance without buying anything new. The school that I'm transferring to has many more formal events I figured that I'll be spending a lot of money in the next few years on fancy attire, so I decided to try and created a new look out of some things that I already had.

     I have a pretty large amount of make-up, but I often to do the same look everyday. My go-to look is silver eyeshadow, a little bit of black or dark brown eyeliner, and my favorite mascara. It works for school and everyday life, but I wanted to do something really fun and dramatic for tonight. I started thinking about celebrities whose make-up I love. I've been watching way too much of That 70s Show on Netflix lately (It's what's kept me sane through the last weeks of school!), and I realized how gorgeous actress Mila Kunis's make-up always is. Take a peek!

     After settling on my make-up inspiration, I found this amazing Youtube tuturial on how to get Mila's unique smoky eye look. I was excited to discover that I already owned a lot of similar products to the ones used in the video. It was easy to follow and I did a test run last night which came out amazing  (There's a picture on my Instagram)! Below is the tutorial that I used:

     Below is a picture of the dress that I'm wearing. It was my senior homecoming dress last year. This is a terrible picture- I'll try and get some better pictures tonight! To update the look I'm wearing different shoes and jewelry.

     Hope that y'all are having a wonderful weekend! I'll try and do a post with pictures from formal tomorrow or Monday.


     xoxo Miss ALK

I did it!

     I found out yesterday afternoon that I got into the school that I have been wanting to transfer to! I was also awarded a merit scholarship so everything should come together financially. I've made it through over a month of waiting time since I applied, and that was the longest month ever! I am so excited now for sophomore year- instead of going to school in a small college town I'll be living in a Southern city. My new school also has Greek life and I can't wait to hopefully be able to join a sorority! And of course most importantly I hope to become involved with the Christian clubs at my new school and to be able to see my faith grow even more in the next 3 years.

     Of course I was so happy about this that yesterday evening after I parked my car outside of my suite building at school I locked not only my car keys but also my room keys, cell phone, laptop, and spare car key in my car! Whoops. Thank goodness university police was able to help me out in time for Dancing With the Stars. :-)

      In honor of all of this excitement, here is a brilliant video that I stumbled upon this past weekend. *NSYNC performing "It's Gonna Be Me" at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. This is a boy band gem right here. Just look at their outfits! Enjoy.

   
    
     "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , present your requests to God." -Philippians 4:6


     xoxo Miss ALK


   
   

All things prom {part 3}

     I apologize that this post is a day late. Yesterday afternoon was a long day of classes, grocery shopping and... a haircut! Pictures to come on Monday. :-)

     Anyways, here is part 3 of my "All things prom" series! Today I've made a little playlist of my favorite prom songs. I think that having a good prom playlist is especially important because the music that the DJ played about both of the proms I went to was horrible for the most part. Junior year there was a ton of country music played, and a live performance from some band made of up a few members of that year's senior class. Their music had an indie rock feel... definitely not cool for prom! Last year the DJ played rap music for most of the night. Don't get me wrong, I like a little rap. But these weren't even rap songs that were popular on the radio, and many had bad language. Since I have a fondness for 90s music, you might see a few older songs mixed in here. :-)

Lou Bega-Mambo #5

The Wanted-Glad You Came 

Carly Rae Jespen-Call Me Maybe

Britney Spears-...Baby One More Time

Rihanna-Don't Stop the Music

Chris Brown-Forever

Pitbull-Don't Stop the Party

*NSYNC-Bye Bye Bye

Havana Brown ft. Pitbull-We Run the Night (edited version)

Neil Diamond-Sweet Caroline (This is a real oldie but it played it at my junior prom and everyone loved it!)

LMFAO-Sexy and I Know It (You'd be surprised at the terribly bad dance moves that come out when this one starts playing. Hilarious!)

     I'm not a huge fan of an overabundance of slow songs at a prom, but below is my vote for the best prom slow song ever. It was actually featured in one of my older cousin's old prom magazines from 2002 or 2003. :-) I love it because the message of the song isn't neccessarily just about missing romantic love, but also could be about missing friends or family. Perfect for a senior prom as everyone prepares to leave for college!

Vanessa Carlton-1000 Miles

     What songs were played at your prom?? 

     

     Happy weekend everyone!

     xoxo Miss ALK