Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases.

{Via my Instagram @miss_alk - follow me on Snapchat as well with the same username!}

Ramblings:

• Papers on papers: This week into the beginning of next is Finals for me here at school! Fall semester last year was one of the worst exam weeks that I've ever experienced- I had difficult exams or presentations in every single one of my classes! This year I am blessed to have a much more slower paced finals week. I actually only have one difficult exam to prep for, and it's not until next Monday! But since I have fewer exams this year, it means more final papers. I have spent a good deal of the beginning of this week in the library, typing away and getting my full use out of Microsoft Word. It will still definitely be a nice relief to be on Winter Break next week!
• Adulting: I spent so much of my first two years of college excited to graduate and plan my life after school, but now that it's rapidly approaching, the whole concept of being an adult is starting to scare me! I feel like there are so many things that I need to learn about before I enter the real world- things like how to do taxes, things of legal importance like planning a will (it's never too early... right?), types of insurance that are necessary... etc etc. But as much as there still is for me to learn, I am taking pride in the fact that I managed to check off some adulting tasks on my to-do list in the past week! I re-registered my car for the year earlier than I have ever done it before, renewed my blog domain (Yay!), and finished applying for a student loan for next semester. If I can get all of these things done while Finals are approaching at school then actual adulthood shouldn't be that bad, right? 
• Thriving in the 90s: This past weekend, I went to check out a nightclub here in Charlotte with some friends that I had never been to before. It's called Roxbury, and they only play music from the 80s and 90s. As a self-proclaimed 90s and early 2000s pop culture aficionado, I was definitely in my element! It was a really great time, and a fun alternative to traditional nightlife. Definitely check it out if you're ever in the Charlotte area! Are there any throwback themed clubs where you live? 
• Blog preparation: In between all of my final papers, I have been kicking butt lately at trying to prepare my blog well with advance content for the holidays. This was something that I really could have improved on last year. My exams last year kept me so busy that I was unable to pre-schedule content, and then when I arrived home for Christmas Break, my computer caught a virus and had to be sent away for repairs for most of the time that I was home!! So I was barely able to blog for a good part of Christmas Break last year, and it really disrupted my blog's traffic and stats (plus I missed it!). I've been working hard this week to shoot lots of outfits, and also brainstorming some fun lifestyle content for this month! Since it seems like every other blogger out there is doing copious amounts of holiday gift guides for this year, you won't be seeing any of those on Southern Belle in Training this season. ;-) (Does anyone else feel like Christmas gift guides are to bloggers right now as large-scale promotion of the Nordstrom sale is during the summer? Haha.) 

     

Purchases: 

• Thanks to everyone to gave their feedback when I shared about this skirt in last week's Ramblings + Purchases post! I ended up choosing to exchange it in the color that I originally purchased, and now I have it in this color, which I think is much more practical for the winter months! I can't wait to style it soon.
• When exchanging my skirt, I also picked up some cute leg warmers to wear with boots this season! The pair that I purchased are sold out online, but here is a similar option from a different retailer. 
• I picked up this Chapstick for the gift bag that I put together for a blog post from last week, but I also picked one up for myself! My lips have been especially chapped lately, and so far this is working well! 

      Hope that y'all are having a wonderful week! It's weird for me to think that the next time that I write Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases, I'll be at home in Maine! I didn't go home at all this semester, but weirdly I am still not very homesick! It will be nice to see my family and friends though. :-) 

     xoxo Miss ALK

Boathouse Row.

Sweater: H&M {similar} // Top: Forever 21 {sold out, similar turtleneck here} // Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters // Boots: Tory Burch // Purse: Michael Kors // Earrings: Charming Charlie {almost identical pair here} // Necklace: {old} // Nails: Essie in Merino Cool

     This was one of my favorite outfits that I wore on my Thanksgiving trip to Pennsylvania with my best friend Mia and her family. I packed this specifically for the day trip that was planned for Philadelphia! When I think of fashion for Northern cities in the winter months, I think of chic outfits in dark colors. I was so excited to be wearing this gorgeous cape-like sweater! Ponchos and capes are very in for this season, and I thought this one was very flattering. 

     These pictures were taken at a famous Philadelphia tourist attraction, Boathouse Row. This picturesque area is located right behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mia and I didn't end up buying tickets to the art museum, but we did enjoy the museum's steps!! When standing on the front steps of the museum, you can get amazing views of the Philly skyline. (I learned that the museum steps are also famous for being in the Rocky movies- apparently there is a very notable scene where Rocky runs down the steps!) We ended our afternoon in Philadelphia with a visit to a neighborhood famous for the Philly cheesesteaks- I can now say that I've had a real Philly cheesesteak! 

     

Having a Blair and Serena moment (who understands the Gossip Girl reference for this photo :-) ) 

      Have you ever been to Philadelphia before? What would you wear for a day trip to the city in the cooler months? 

     xoxo Miss ALK

Bloggers' Holiday Christmas Cookie Swap: My Favorite Christmas Cookies!

     I'm so excited to be participating in a very fun holiday link-up today! Fellow Charlotte fashion blogger Laura from Louella Reese has organized a virtual holiday cookie swap for several bloggers to participate in. Each blogger participating will be sharing one of their favorite holiday cookie recipes, and then "tagging" the next blogger's recipe (almost like a loop giveaway, except it will be a whole loop of recipes if you visit all of the blogs!).


     I was so excited to be included in this fun link-up, because I just adore any chance that I get while at school to bake! Baking and cooking are two of my loves, but since I have lived on campus all four years in rooms that don't have kitchens, it's something that I don't get the chance to do a lot at the stage in my life. A friend of mine who lives off-campus generously let me use her apartment's kitchen for this post. ;-)


     I am sharing a recipe for Chocolate Thumbprint cookies! It's a super easy recipe to make from scratch, and the cookies come out tasting rich and fudgy. I first received this recipe when I attended a cooking day camp called Measuring Up! Cooking for Kids way back when I was in middle school. I saved the recipe ever since, and it remains one of my favorites.

 

Chocolate Thumbprint cookies:

*1/2 cup butter
*3/4 cup sugar
*1/3 cup cocoa powder 
*1 egg
*1 Tbsp. milk
*1 tsp. vanilla extract
*2 cups flour

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter, sugar and cocoa in mixer on lowest speed until light and fluffy. (I didn't have access to a mixer this time when I made the cookies, so instead I melted the butter in the microwave so it was easier to mix by hand with the dry ingredients.) 

3. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla.

4. Add flour and mix well until blended.

5. Roll dough into 2 inch balls and place 4 inches apart on a baking sheet.

6. Then comes the fun part- the thumbprints! See picture below:

7. Bake for 8 minutes.

8. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire rack.

Yields approx. 16 cookies.

     There you go! My favorite easy-peasy cookie recipe, perfect for the holidays (or really any time of year!).

     A note on my appearance in these pictures- I am wearing absolutely no make-up, my friend's yoga pants, and an oversized sorority sweatshirt. I thought about getting ready for the pictures to be taken during this blog post, but then I thought that I would show y'all the more natural side of me for a change.


   

     Next up in the holiday cookie swap is my Charlotte blogger bestie Morgan from How 2 Wear It! She is sharing a recipe for Hot Cocoa cookies- be sure to check it out!


     Do you have any favorite treat recipes for the holidays? (If you do and they're on Pinterest- send me the pins!! My dessert Pinterest board is continually growing... :-) )


     xoxo Miss ALK

Perfect Gifts for a New Car Owner.

     Today's post is sponsored by by Collective Bias, Inc. and Yankee Candle®. All opinions are honest and my own. Thank-you for supporting the brands that support Southern Belle in Training!  #LoveAmericanHome  #CollectiveBias

     One of my best friends just made a very big adult purchase: a new car! Buying a new car is a milestone that I think is always worthy of celebration. I wanted to make my friend a little gift bag filled with goodies to celebrate her new wheels! With the holidays just around the corner, this will make a fun, unique and useful Christmas gift!

     Here are the items that I chose! First and foremost: a hard-copy, old-fashioned paper map! I am a big advocate of maps. My mom taught me how to read maps at a young age (yay homeschooled for six years!), and I'm so grateful now that she did. Despite all of the modern geographic technologies, a paper map is still so useful. You never know if you'll be stuck in an area where you'll be without cell or GPS service, or somewhere that your electronic GPS devices might not be able to interpret your directions! It's just always great to have back-up.

     Next, some handy essentials for the car! I don't know about y'all, but I always find that my lips get super chapped when I drive, especially for long periods. So I got my friend a lip balm just for leaving in her car! And of course, every girl's car keys need a pretty key chain! Fun fact: I've been collecting key chains since I was four years old. Because of this I am a total key chain fanatic, and I knew that my friend needed the perfect one.

     And last but certainly not least, scented products for your car are an absolute essential. (Especially for a newer car!! Once that new car smell goes, you want to keep it smelling GOOD.) It always makes me so much happier when I come into my car and a fresh and delicious scent is there to greet me.

     The Yankee Candle® brand on-the-go fragrance products for auto were the perfect final addition to my friend's gift! Famous originally for their multitude of candle options, Yankee Candle® brand now has an extensive auto care fragrance line, and these products are conveniently sold at Walmart stores nationwide! 

     Thanks to Walmart's great low prices, I was able to select three of the Yankee Candle® brand auto fragrance products for my friend's gift! I chose two of the Smart Scent Vent Clips, and one of the Ultimate Car Jars. While both of these fragrance options work differently in how scent is distributed throughout the car, they all smell wonderfully, and are long-lasting!! Since these fragrances will each last such a long time, I selected what I think will be the perfect fragrance for each upcoming season for my friend's car. Balsam & Cedar is the perfect holiday and winter scent, Pink Sands makes me think of a tropical Spring Break, and Macintosh smells like fresh apples and summertime! 

     It is very easy to find a great selection of Yankee Candle® brand auto fragrance products in your local Walmart! Just head to the Car Care department of your Walmart, and you should find a large selection.

     
     What would your essential picks be for gifts for someone who just purchased a car? Are there any items that you always keep on hand in your vehicle? 


     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese 

Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases.

{Via my Instagram @miss_alk - follow me on Snapchat too with the same username!}

Ramblings:

• Friendsgiving: This was my third year out of four years of college spending Thanksgiving with families of my friends instead of my own extended family back home. Getting to spend so many Thanksgivings, and a few other holidays as well, with other families has been such an enriching experience. It's a wonderful feeling to be welcomed into someone's home for a holiday, and I absolutely love seeing the different traditions that each family holds near and dear. Honestly this has probably been one of my favorite parts of going to college far from home! This year's Thanksgiving with my best friend Mia and her family back in Pennsylvania was definitely one for the books. Since I plan to stay out-of-state following college, I know that I will have many more Friendsgivings to look forward to, and possibly even hosting some of my own wherever I end up living! 
• Grey Thursday is the new Black Friday: In all the years that I have Black Friday shopped, this was my very first year of starting shopping on Thanksgiving night. Typically I wake up somewhere between 6 and 8 a.m. on Friday, and just make for a 10 or 12 hour day at the malls! But this year since I was spending the holiday with my friend, things were a bit different. We ended up doing one traditional mall and also Philadelphia's huge outlet mall all on Grey Thursday! We started at about 8 pm, and didn't get home until after 2 a.m.. But what an awesome experience!! I am a total night owl so I loved being able to shop into the wee hours of the morning. (Of course the fun didn't stop on Thursday though... we hit up King of Prussia, the largest mall by retail space in the country, on Black Friday evening!)
• Winter Break Goals: I am starting to plan out my goals and list of things to accomplish over Christmas Break! I'm only going home to Maine for two weeks of break this time, and decided to return to Charlotte early. I am hoping to have a fun and productive Winter Break in both Maine and Charlotte- this is my last one as a college student after all! A few of my goals include making fun NYE plans for Charlotte (I'll be back by then), setting up apartment tours, planning some fun things with my Maine friends and family while I'm home, and beginning crafting for a birthday gift for a friend whose birthday is next semester! 

Purchases:

• This year's Black Friday sales did not disappoint! One of my favorite purchases of this year was finally finding the perfect pair of over-the-knee boots. And the best part?! They were only $20 during Black Friday!! I had been looking online at some OTK boots at department stores ranging $100 and higher. I'm so glad that I held out and struck gold with these!
• I shared on my Instagram last night a little preview of two adorable skirts that I purchased from Abercrombie & Fitch on Grey Thursday. Each was marked to about $25, so I got both of these for $50!! Sadly both of the skirts are no longer listed online, but here is a very similar option to one of the skirts that I got.
• Black Friday is always a great time to stock up on essential wardrobe items, since these are usually all on sale. I found some great pairs of of tights on sale here, and I know I'll get tons of use out of them this winter!
• Y'all-please help me to make a decision with this skirt! I purchased this on a whim on Grey Thursday, but after trying it on when we got home from shopping I realized I would have to exchange it for a different size. But I'm not sure if I still love it (at least maybe not in this color)... yet at the same time, I feel like a skirt like this is a blogger essential. Thoughts?! Should I exchange or return?

      For those of you who did Black Friday/Cyber Monday this year, how did it go for you?? In addition to purchasing these items and a few other things for myself, I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping, which makes me happy! I hate being a last minute present shopper.

     xoxo Miss ALK