Why I Decided To Do A Four Week Shopping Fast.

     I've mentioned in a couple blog posts from this month that I'm currently in the middle of a four week long shopping fast, so I wanted today's post to explain a little bit more about what this is and why I decided to do it. 

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     My definition of a shopping fast means no shopping for fun or anything unnecessary for the duration of the fast, which I have set at four weeks. That means no online shopping, no strolling the mall or local boutiques after work, and just no personal shopping in general during this time! I made sure to stock up before I began this on a few beauty essentials that I use in my daily routine. I was going to do the shopping fast through the whole month of May, but I didn't want to miss out on Memorial Day sales, which can be some of the best of the year after Black Friday, so I began the fast a few days early at the end of of April, and I'll finish it at Memorial Day Weekend.


      So why exactly am I doing this? And more specially, why now? Here are my reasons:


     1. Moving out of state is EXPENSIVE: This one is kind of self-explanatory, but true. Moving out of state each summer when I was in college was an expense for sure, but nothing even close to doing a full blown out of state move. I am really thankful that my parents were able to help me out this time around with a lot of the major expenses (although that probably won't happen next time around!), BUT there was a still a lot that I had to pay for too. Things that you don't think about... like tipping your movers and all of the DMV fees that you have to pay upon arriving in your new state. That all adds up fast. And it adds up even faster when those things and other things come due before you've had your first paycheck! Needless to say, my bank account definitely needs some time to recover after having a lot of expenses all at once like that.


     2. Budgeting is difficult (especially when you're bad at math): A fun fact about radio: even though I am 100% convinced I have the best job in the world, the one downside of it is that I don't work in the highest paying field. Starting pay in radio is really low, and that's an unavoidable fact. To me it's worth it- because my career satisfaction makes up for the lower salary! But a lower starting salary means that I have to be really money conscious and stick to my budget (which I'm in the process of making). Unfortunately for me, math of any type has never been my forte. It's helping me this month as I figure out necessary expenses to completely eliminate the unnecessary ones.


     3. I've been reevaluating and appreciating things I already own: Taking a month off from shopping might seem really unusual for a fashion blogger to do... after all, one of my jobs here on the blog is to keep up with the latest trends and styles, and the report on them and style them for y'all! But one problem that I do see sometimes in the blogging world is materialism creeping in to someone's life and starting to take over. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a girly girl who loves clothes, shoes, makeup and trends. But there is a problem when this starts to become an obsession, someone's money starts going only to fund shopping habits, and someone believes they find their worth in material things. That's a big NOPE! When you spend so much of your time each week working on your blog (or even just as a reader of blogs) it can be hard sometimes to notice materialism creeping in. Buy cutting out shopping for a month, it will help me to focus on other priorities, and also realize how much stuff I already have! Seriously- I gave away a ton of stuff before I moved, but I STILL have a closet FULL of clothes and accessories!



      So those are my reasons behind my shopping fast! I'm already looking forward to the Memorial Day Weekend Sales, but surprisingly starting this month hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. (Although I do really have my eye on this pair of sunglasses- haha!)



     Have you ever partaken in a shopping fast before? Let me know in the comments!!



     Hope y'all are having a great week. I have a busy day coming up tomorrow with more radio events after my show- I love having a job that keeps my week interesting!



     God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese (or Charlotte XO on the radio!)

Midweek Ramblings + Recent Purchases + Current Wishlist.

{A snap from another hike with my coworkers from last weekend!! It was 40 degrees and sleeting a little bit when this photo was taken... ah, Vermont spring! Haha. Follow me on social media @miss_alk!}

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Southern Belle in Training blog.

Ramblings:

• Being a bookworm: I grew up as a total bookworm. (The Babysitters Club books were literally an addiction for me when I was little... my parents used to have to take them away from me sometimes because I would be reading 24/7 when I was supposed to be doing other school work or other responsibilities, haha!) And in high school, reading was an escape for me during some difficult times. But once I was in college, reading for fun is something that stopped for me. Between homework and textbook reading, plus all the things that I was involved in at school AND working part time AND running a blog, there was literally no time to read for fun! Any other college students relate? But now that school is finally done, reading can be a regular occurrence again and I'm so excited!! I got my local library card here in Vermont last week and got a little overenthusiastic and checked out five books. I'm not sure yet if my work schedule accommodates that much reading, but hopefully I can get through two or three of them before they're due! Have y'all read anything good lately?
• First radio events: I had a really busy weekend with work!! A big part of radio are live events and/or broadcasts, which are called "remotes" in radio language.  This weekend I had my first remotes. Typically there's not more than one in a weekend, but my station had a whopping three remotes this weekend, and I got to work at my first one on Sunday. That was in addition to my normal weekend on-air shifts! Despite the weather being less than stellar (rainy + cold = not ideal for outdoor remotes at community events), it was still a very fun weekend! My job is very demanding hours wise for sure, but it helps the time to pass by quickly where I am new to the Burlington area and still don't know a lot of people yet. I'm in the works right now of figuring out a blog post series for sharing more about my job here on the blog!

Purchases:

• As I shared in last week's post, I'm doing a shopping fast this month! I'll be sharing the reasons behind that in tomorrow's post.
• However despite the shopping fast, in last week's post I shared that there were some affordable and super cute sunglasses that I was worried would sell out before my shopping fast was done. Well- I was right! They were already gone this week. So I did order this week a similar pair... I didn't want them all to sell out and these will be a summer staple!

Wishlist: 

• I'm a sucker for anything Tiffany blue. It's my favorite color not only because it's pretty, but also because I dream someday that a special guy in my life will buy me something that comes in one of those iconic little blue boxes... ah! A girl can dream! Anyways, this dress is that gorgeous iconic shade of blue and so lovely for summer. 
• I shared a couple weeks ago that I bought a new Macbook case on Etsy. But this one just came up on my Etsy homepage as a suggested purchase and OMG. Where was this a few weeks ago?! PRETTIEST thing I've ever seen to cover a piece of technology! 
• This chic jumpsuit would be great for a night out on the town this spring, and it's on sale online right now! 
• One of my favorite bible verses can be found on this cute graphic t-shirt! It's under $10 and would add a touch of inspiration and positivity to a casual or athleisure look! 
• These cute workout leggings are under $15- what an amazing bargain!
• This last item is a TOTAL wishlist pick.... priced at over $2,000, this will forever be a dream dress and not a reality purchase item!! But how beautiful is this spring dress?! I think it looks so high fashion, and I hope to find some dupe versions for it soon.

On the blog in the last week:

• 4 Places To Visit In Rome From The Lizzie McGuire Movie
• Home Sweet Cubicle: How I Decorated My Work Space.
• A Love Letter To Charlotte NC (and styling my new favorite coat in this post!)

     Thanks so much as always for reading Midweek Ramblings! These posts while simple, are some of my favorite to write for y'all each week. I really do love having this little time of the week to share the small things happening in my life outside of the blog, and a place to gush over the products that I'm loving and lusting on at the moment. 😊

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese (or Chalotte XO on the radio!)

A Love Letter to Charlotte NC.

    Switching things up for this outfit post since today marks one month since I moved away from Charlotte! I've noticed that it was around the three week post move mark that I really started missing a lot about Charlotte, so I decided to dedicate today's post to the city that I love so much. It also seemed fitting since this was an Uptown photoshoot! 

Home Sweet Cubicle: How I Decorated My Work Space.

     This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PureLife35pk #CollectiveBias 

     Welcome to my new home away from home- my office cubicle! Well- technically speaking the place that I spend the most time at my new job of course is the radio studio, but I do other things at my job other than just talking live on the radio. 😉 When I'm not doing my shows live in the studios, I can be found in this cozy and colorful cubicle, working on a variety of different tasks. Most of the on-air personalities have their own offices downstairs near the radio studios, but since I'm the newbie in the building I was given a cubicle upstairs in the sales department. I actually really like being up there for my office space- the sales staff at our stations are so nice and it is fun to get to work around them as well and not just the programming staff. ALSO: sometimes various members of the sales team bring their dogs into work in the afternoons- so guess who gets to hang with puppy visitors when she gets off-air?!


      When I moved into this cubicle during my first week of work, I was so excited to have a space at work that was all mine to decorate and personalize! And my cubicle is also a space where I can store snacks to eat between talk breaks on-air, and a good supply of Nestlé® Pure Life® water bottles to keep me hydrated all day long! Since a good majority of my job involves talking (and at loud and upbeat volumes), it's extra important that I stay hydrated during work, so I always make sure to keep Nestle Pure Life bottles on hand. 


     Now let's tour my cubicle! (I promise the tour won't take too long... after all, it is a cubicle!)

      Starting the tour off on a bit of a sentimental note... this is my childhood CD collection! When I was a little girl and obsessed with Top 40 hits of the day and dreaming about someday being a radio host, these CDs were some of my most prized possessions. Even though I still listen to early 2000s music on the daily, I do most of it through streaming thanks to my Spotify Premium membership, so these were all just sitting around in my childhood bedroom in Maine for years. My mom brought them for me to keep in my new apartment, but I thought they would make a fun cubicle decoration given my line of work, and I love the sentimental value!

      My main tip for decorating your cubicle at your first job is to use leftover dorm and college apartment decorations! I had a ton of things from my four years of living on campus that I had used as room decor- items that I didn't want or need in my first solo apartment, but at the same time they were also things that I wasn't quite ready to part with. So my cubicle came to the rescue! This makeup mirror was one of them, and it served a great purpose. I wanted a mirror at my desk so that I could touch up my lipstick throughout the day, and with my makeup situation in my new bathroom (there is a big wall mirror) I had no use for this little mirror from college anymore. So to work it went! And this notepad was a Christmas gift from Cara- it's so helpful and I use it to jot down my various work tasks of the day. I used a similar notepad to it when I interned at my broadcasting school for the past six months. You can also catch a glimpse in the mirror of my favorite tassel garland, which I use to decorate the back wall of my cubicle! That was formally in the dining room of my old apartment in Charlotte. 

      My agenda was always by my side wherever I went in college since my schedule was ever changing (both with schoolwork and extracurriculars), but now that I finally have a set weekly schedule with work, I just leave my agenda on my cubicle desk! And of course my iPhone follows me wherever I go... #bloggerprobs! 😉

     One of the things that was left in my cubicle by the "previous tenant" was this bulletin board! As you can see, I haven't completely decorated it yet as I've only been at work for a few weeks, but I've already added some photos of favorite Charlotte memories with my best friends there, and a few other fun decorations. I'm excited to see it become completely come together as the months go by! I think that a bulletin board is an awesome idea for a cubicle space- what a fun way to make a space more personal. 

     This shelf is above my computer. My fellow cubicle-mates, the sales staff, clutter their shelves with paperwork and other work things, but since most of my job is contained to my voice and my computer (and one neatly organized binder), I didn't have any work related things to put up there. So more college decorations came to the rescue! You might recognize the little art print on the left from various dorm room tours that I've shared on the blog in years past. I purchased it a few years ago at the store that I used to work summers at in Maine, and I still think the quote on it holds very true! And then my own special touch to my cubicle- my college stuffed animal collection. I amassed all of these through various ways throughout college- the lions were gifts from sisters in ADPi (our sorority mascot is Alphie the Lion), the Chick Fil A cow was a fun restaurant freebie, and the others were gotten through various means. The stuffed animals were another thing that I didn't think really belonged as decoration in my first solo apartment, but I didn't really want to part with them either. So I think they add a really cute touch to my cubicle! And lastly, pens and markers in a cute mug, and blog business cards in my favorite rabbit business card holder. You never know when someone wants a Southern Belle in Training business card!

     The full desk area! My work provided me with the lamp that's there, and behind it I also have a couple of personal framed photos that I can see when I'm sitting at the computer. 

     There's a small end table that was also provided for me by my work that sits under the bulletin board. My work also left me with this (MASSIVE) boom box... complete with a double cassette deck and multi-CD player! It is the most early 2000s thing that I've ever seen... and I immediately fell in love with it, haha! It also plays the radio, but instead of listening to my stations, I like to listen to a local country channel when I'm at my cubicle. I love working in Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio, but when I'm at my desk it's my time of day to clear my head from the music that I work in! 
     Next to the boom box might just be the most important thing in the cubicle (yes- even more so than my computer!). I can't stress enough how important it is for me to stay hydrated as a radio personality, so that my voice is always sounding its best and that my throat doesn't dry out! Nestle Pure Life water bottles continually come to my rescue in this department. 
    I've been buying Nestle Pure Life water bottles for years now. The tap water at my university tasted very funky, so I always bought water bottles in college when I lived on campus, and Nestle Pure Life bottles were my favorite to buy since they tasted great and were affordable! And even better news: now at Walmart stores you can buy this 35 pack of Nestle Pure Life bottles for the same price as a 32 pack... so it's like getting three water bottles for free! What a great deal. (At Walmart.com you can find 24 packs of Nestle Pure life bottles... this amazing 35 pack deal is only in Walmart store locations!) If this version of Nestle Pure Life is not available in your local Walmart, you can ask a store manager about getting the product in your area.      

      You can find this 35 pack of Nestle Pure Life water bottles at your local Walmart store!! At the Walmart that I found mine at, they were selling fast since they're such a good deal! Look at the next picture to see how quickly the Nestle Pure Life bottles were selling in proportion to everything else: 

      Also be on the lookout starting in mid-May for new packaging from Nestle Pure Life!



      Did you also enjoy decorating your cubicle? (And if you're still a high school/college student, did you enjoy decorating your workspace area in your room?) And is water also a workday staple for you like it is for me?

     Thanks so much for reading! Have a great Monday.



     God Bless,



      xoxo Annaliese (or Charlotte XO on the radio!)

4 Places To Visit In Rome From The Lizzie McGuire Movie!

     I've always been more of a TV girl then a movie girl, but with that being said there are exactly five movies that I can binge watch over and over, share quotes from to no end, and all in all never get sick of watching. One of which I saw for the first time in a movie theatre with my parents back in 2003, and my life has never been same since that night. The movie of course is none other than The Lizzie McGuire Movie.