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} 

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!

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

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 first vlog!

     Before I actually post this, a couple disclaimers and some important news:

1. Whatever the recording program is in my computer made my voice sound about 500% more nasal than it is in person. Honestly- I don't sound like I have a stuffy nose all the time! Haha.
2. I'm sorry for looking away from the camera for so much of this. When I really got talking I forgot to stare at the webcam. :-)
3. In a bit of happy blogging news, one of my absolute favorite bloggers, Julianne, got engaged  this past weekend! Head on over to her blog Between the Lines to wish her congratulations!

     Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for me! I had a lot of fun doing this, and I might do it again in the future. 

     Have a great Monday! North Carolina is experiencing some AMAZING weather this week so expect some springy fashion posts!

     xoxo Miss ALK