BE HERE - February 14th.

     Something BIG is coming to SouthernBelleinTraining.com this Valentine's Day!! (Much bigger then just me prancing around by the Charlotte skyline in an LBD carrying some balloons ;-)... although that is related!)

     This is something that I have been working on/coordinating since December, and I can't wait for over two months of hard work to finally go live to all of you. My blog is about to be taken to the next level, and I can't wait to share!


     Because of this, my blog will go private for maintenance tomorrow, February 13th. I have actually never shut down my site before, but I want it to be absolutely perfect for the 14th! My Valentine's Day post/big news will go live at 8 am EST, and you won't want to miss it!


     xoxo Miss ALK

Galentines 2015.

     This past Friday night, my dear friend Caroline and I decided that we needed an extra special Girls Night Out! We had both had very long and very tough weeks, and we decided a fitting cure would be to go out to dinner together. But not just any dinner would do- the only remedy for an extra bad week is actually making a reservation (at a nice restaurant in Uptown Charlotte mind you!) and getting all dolled up!

     I have actually featured Caroline and one of her cute outfits here on Southern Belle in Training before! Both of us went together to our college's annual school-wide semi-formal event, Casino Night, together back in November. I blogged both of our outfits and you can see that post here! (In fact, those pictures were taken in the same exact spot on campus as these pictures It's my favorite spot to do blog pictures at night since the lighting is decent. :-) ) Anyways- here is Caroline's adorable outfit from our GNO!

Caroline's Outfit Details:

Dress: Anthropologie || Cardigan: Anthropologie || Shoes: Target || Jewelry: {Antique store}

Blazer: Forever 21 || Skirt: Forever 21 || Tank Top: Wet Seal || Shoes: Nine West || Bag: Michael Kors || Necklace: Kohl's || Bracelet: {Local boutique in my hometown} || Rings: Charming Charlie || Lips: Maybelline ColorSensational Matte in Lust for Blush

     So these were our outfits for our fun night out on the town! Caroline is a huge Anthropologie fan (I have been with her before when she is shopping there... that store is her element!), so I wasn't surprised that the majority of her outfit came from there. :-)

      There is a funny story behind me and the skirt that I am wearing. I bought it in December 2013 to wear for New Years Eve 2014, hoping that I would actually have plans that night, as I don't typically do anything special for New Years. But that was the winter break that my parents and I traveled to the UK for the holidays, and we came home in the early evening of December 29th. I was still very jet lagged on NYE that year, so I didn't make any plans and instead stayed in and worked on a craft project (actually this project!). 

     So I decided that I would keep the tags on the skirt and save it to wear for NYE 2015, and actually make big plans for this New Years! During this winter break, I started to make some plans with high school friends. My friend Helen organized a dinner out with some other old friends of mine (some that I literally hadn't seen since high school graduation!), and then we were going to go back to her house after for games and to hang out some more. Not any huge plans, but it was going to be a fun evening, and a chance for me to finally wear my skirt! I flew home with it and was planning to wear it with tights and my favorite fur vest, since Maine during NYE isn't exactly warm. But sadly this year on the afternoon of December 31st I came down with one of the worst migraines of my life, and I had to bail out of my plans! So alas, the skirt still was unused.

     It is such a cute skirt that I couldn't stand the thought of it sitting another year in my closet... so I finally cut the tag and wore it out with Caroline! I've seen so many bloggers and even some friends of mine posting about their recent plans with girlfriends as Valentines approaching and calling it "Galentines," so I decided that I liked that term and that this would now be my "Galentines" skirt instead of a NYE skirt. It's fun, flirty, and just perfect for a night out on the town! I tried to make it look slightly more conservative here by pairing it with my favorite blazer (since we were off to a restaurant and not a night club), but it would definitely be appropriate for a party scene as well.

     

     Also lastly, I am obsessed with this Maybelline lipstick that I am wearing here! My mom gave it to me for Christmas (she always picks out the best lipstick shades!), and I have been wearing it non-stop. It has a slight purple tint, but it's still perfect to wear everyday, especially in the winter months. I stopped doing Monthly Beauty Favorites posts a few months ago, but I should do a Winter Beauty Favorites round-up soon, and this will definitely be in it!

     Did any of you make Galentines plans this year? Or do you have Galentines plans to look forward to during Valentines weekend? 

     xoxo Miss ALK

    

Best in Blog Photo Bloopers: Winter 2015.

    

     First off- can I get a round of applause for blogging all five days this week?! I can't remember the last time that this happened during the school year! This was actually one of the most stressful weeks that I have had in a long time- both academically and personally. Some of the posts that went up this week were pre-scheduled over last weekend, and others were written during my study breaks throughout the week. I found that getting more blogging done actually helped me to be more motivated with my homework (who knew?!). I can't promise five-day-a-week posts every single week of the semester, but I'm going to shoot for at least a three day posting schedule from now forward!

     When I was editing the photos for my most recent fashion post, although I found some pictures that I loved and couldn't wait to post, I was also appalled by the amount of outtakes that there were! So many of the pictures that Gina took of my outfit were just plain horrible- and not because of her or her photography, because of me!! Lol! I would move, the sun would be in my eyes, my outfit wouldn't cooperate... etc. I'm sure that other fashion bloggers can relate. I began to realize that I had a bunch of hilarious outtakes saved on my computer from past fashion posts, and I thought a fitting way to end my first week in awhile of posts on all five weekdays would be to share some of my favorite "bad blogging pictures."



    Without further ado:

This is definitely a favorite for me out of all of these!! I look so mad haha!

#GossipGirlLinkUp Fail?

SOOOO washed out.... scary!

Beach blog pictures candid fail.

     And lastly, my favorite outtakes from my latest fashion post:

  
     Lastly, if you follow me on Instagram (@miss_alk), you might have seen that I was nominated yesterday for the #20BeautifulWomen challenge that is currently going viral on there. I decided to accept the nomination, but instead of posting a normal selfie or a typical picture that I feel really beautiful in (beacause I feel that I do that a lot with sharing my normal blog pictures on social media!), I decided to make my picture for the challenge a unique one:

     This was a Snapchat that I sent to Ciera, (one of my good friends that I've stayed in touch with from my former college) on the eve of my last birthday!! Sometimes you just can't take yourself seriously. ;-) So now this gem is up for the whole Instagram world to enjoy! Happy Friday!!


      Hope that y'all will have a wonderful weekend! I will be back next week with more posts (as I am finally back on a regular posting schedule!), and stay tuned because exciting big changes are coming here to Southern Belle in Training soon, and I can't wait to share more!


     xoxo Miss ALK

Being Adult.

     Last week, when I was on my way to science lab (I have science class right after lunch, followed by a half hour break, and then a two and a half hour corresponding lab. #funtimes), I had a random text from Jules, who is one of my best friends from back home in Maine. She asked me if I had any dinner plans for a weekend that was a few weeks away. I immediately responded with "no," followed by something along the lines of, "But it's irrelevant because obviously I'm not going to be home that weekend....." She then followed back with. "I know. Would you like to have dinner with me in Charlotte?" I immediately started FREAKING OUT. In the middle of my science classroom! And when I say freaking out I mean shrieking and tears running down my face, no joke. Jules has already visited me in Charlotte once- she came to see me just after I transferred to my current college back in October 2013. So I knew that when she said she wanted to visit again, she wasn't messing with me!

Jules's first visit down South- on our day trip to Greenville, SC.

    First I should note that Jules didn't just want to pack up and abandon her life to see me. ;-) State schools in Maine have very different school breaks then colleges in the South, so she had a school vacation coming up in a couple of weeks, so it made sense that she would want to get out of Maine's frigid temperatures for a few days! However, I did not have a school vacation coming up. Since Jules is one of my best friends, (and I miss her dearly when I'm at school!), the first thing that I said was "of course you can visit!", I just let her know that I might have to do a little homework while she was here, and attend classes, and go to my internship, and a couple of sorority events... etc. But I was convinced I could make it work. My roommate was fine with Jules coming in during the dates she wanted to visit, so everything seemed good to go.

     Jules called me a couple nights later ready to book her flight, and I gave her the go-ahead. But after we got off the phone, I looked at my schedule again, and then I suddenly realized... HOW IN THE WORLD CAN I HAVE A FRIEND FROM HOME VISIT?! In addition to my daily classes, homework, internship, weekly babysitting job, during the dates that Jules could visit I also had:

• A broadcasting conference to attend here in Charlotte that my academic advisor recommended me for (an amazing opportunity for my major!)
• A full weekend of babysitting the weekend before Jules arrived
• A sorority mixer event
• A midterm in my hardest class the day after she would have left 
• My roommate's 21st birthday

     I took a long hard time to think about things, and I ended up having to tell my dear friend that this wasn't the best time for me to host a visitor. Since she is such a good friend, she was of course very understanding (and we are actually talking about her visiting later in the spring when I have a long weekend off from school!), but still, it killed me having to tell her no. I was so flattered that she wanted to make a last minute trip down to see me, and it would have done my soul some good to see her. It has overall been a good few weeks since coming back to school, but there have been a couple things happening in my life that I haven't posted about here on the blog, and I know these are the types of things that having Jules here for would have helped so much with.

     But alas, I made what I think was the responsible adult decision, and put my school and work priorities first. If there's one thing that I have learned this far in college it's that you can't do it all. Don't pass up the exciting opportunities that come your way, but at the same time, pick and choose which to actually take advantage of! Nothing good comes to anyone who pushes themselves over their limits and overextends themselves in too many directions.


      I already have plans for every single weekend of this month, and sadly none of my plans are that exciting. The broadcasting conference which I mentioned above is probably what I am most excited for, but I have a lot of prep work to do to get ready to attend that, and it is being held early on a Saturday morning, which is my sleep-in day. :-) Oh- the sacrifices one makes for the transition to adulthood!


     Can any other fellow collegiates (or former collegiates) relate to how difficult it can be to sometimes make the mature decisions instead of the fun ones? Please tell me I'm not alone (and that I made the right choice in this situation!).


     I feel as though I haven't shared a post as personal as this in awhile. Ever since I started taking my blog in a more fashion-focused direction over a year ago now, I have slowly been reducing more and more my amount of personal posts. I feel that a lot of the early personal posts on Southern Belle in Training were so over personal that it's awkward for me to read them now, haha!! Soon I am going to be going through and cleaning out some old posts like that... but, I still do think it's good to get "real" on here sometimes and to take a break from the fashion and beauty talk. :-)


     xoxo Miss ALK

Sale Rack Sequins.

Dress: H&M || Coat {Old} || Shoes: Nine West || Purse: Michael Kors || Earrings: Forever 21 || Rings: Charming Charlie || Nails: Essie in Merino Cool || Lips: NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Sponge Cake

      Do you ever have a week that's just a little bit longer than usual, and you know that to celebrate the end of it you need a night of dressing up and going out with some girlfriends? That was me after the first week of spring semester (how was that only a few weeks ago?!). My first week back at school was absolute insanity. I have a demanding course load this semester so that in itself was something to get used to, plus it seemed like I was getting hit with some personal stuff all at once. I knew that by Thursday night I needed a night out on the town with some of my favorite ladies!

    
     After I got out of my internship that night, I headed to the mall with Jess (my Big in ADPi), and her two suitemates, Haley and Hannah. The only stop that we needed to make was H&M! All three of the girls wanted to get some new going out clothes for that night and I was actually the one who didn't really want to buy anything (I was just at the mall for the Chick-Fil-A in the food court... ;-) ), but I made the mistake of browsing the sale racks and fell in love with this gorgeous dress! It was orignally $70, but marked down to around $33. After the week that I had, how could I ever pass it up?!

Dressing room selfie for the win!

     Two days after my night out was my blogging meet-up with my fellow NC Her Campus Blogging Network bloggers Gina and Cara! Even though I had only worn the dress just 48 hours before, I hadn't had enough of it yet, and I brought it along as my final outfit to wear for all of the photo shoots that the three of us had! (The pictures in this post were taken by Gina.) While Gina was taking these pictures (on my new camera!) I felt like I was in a fashion magazine! It was the perfect ending to a long week. Sometimes a glam new dress is exactly the perfect pick-me-up, dontcha think?! In the future I can't wait to try re-styling this dress with different jewelry, shoes and hairstyles! Especially with wearing my hair up since it's a low-back dress.

     The exact dress that I'm wearing has sold out from H&M since I bought it on clearance, but they're currently selling a very similar dress in black! And better news- it's much cheaper then my dress was! I have it linked in the shopping widget below. :-)

     xoxo Miss ALK